The Sh(r)ill Discussion to end all Sh(r)ill Discussions

I believe a shill is a person who joins the board without so much as a how-dee-do and starts spewing how great a show is and bashing anyone who dissagres with their opinion. I suspect they are either paid by the PR team or have some other huge personal intrest in a show. Clues to look for include, but are not limited to; raving about a show even before it has a preview, joining the board the same day as they post said rave, putting down anyone who questions them and a mean streak of defensiveness when someone questions thier motives.

As for long term posters, they may "shill" a show, but because there is some rapport with the other posters already, it is more of a "Hey, you guys, come see my show, or check out this one cuz it's really great". Like friends would do. Robbiej is a perfect example of this. He is proud of his work and wants his aquaintances to know about it. This, to me is perfectly acceptable.

I also believe that a person should reveal any personal connection to a show...but that's just my opinion.

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Where did shrill come from and how is it different from shill in your mind? (Like I said the shill discussion to end all shill discussins. )

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Oye! This can be a real can of worms. But it's a fun topic!

Shill: (slang), Someone who works as a decoy, as in a gambling game, by posing as an innocent bystander or a customer. - Webster Dictionary.

Shill: (theater slang), a person who intentionally brags about a show, event or performer having something to gain financially from the promotion of such information. - a "possible" theater related definition.

Here's where the fun begns, define "something to gain". A shill is NOT an avid supporter who just adores a show or performer and can't stop sharing their enthusiam. While this kind of enthusiam can get annoying to some, this is just an excited supporter or fan. God Bless 'em! Broadway needs this for a following.
The term shill has been curiously adopted by the theater crowd and is often confused and abused.

A shill in NOT a friend/relative who has a friend/relative in a show and is just proud to share their success or experiences, without having any direct investment or financial gain from that show. Friends support friends and we're glad they do!

Just to clear the facts, in my instance, I came here with an open and honest agreement about my career with the webmaster. I always ask permission to post about an event that involves any of my contracted clients.IE: a fundraiser or charity that would benefit someone besides myself. We deal with this on an as need basis and the need has rarely come up. I do 99% of my business away from the theater boards out of respect for others.

Other than that, I think anyone should be free to share their opinions and passions for a show or an actor, without fear of being called a shill....or worse!

This is just my view on this. You can agree, disagree,ignore me spell check me or... whatever. Just use common sense and respect and we'd all be better people.

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Updated On: 3/30/04 at 02:38 PM

It's a shame that sometimes a person who's really avid about a show and can't stop raving about it is mistaken for and called a shill. It actually happened to me once with Dance of the Vampires. (ok, stop throwing produce!)

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I think that is definitely bad to be paid to shill on a free website. It isn't an honest way to do business, and ends up hurting a show. I can honestly say I am not paid for anything, and may never be! Ahhh its liberating not to hide it anymore!

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Updated On: 6/18/04 at 04:39 PM

eponine, you got me on that one. I never saw such vicious hatred towards a show and the people who liked it in my life. Those people were so emotionally invested in a show, and many of them NEVER EVEN SAW IT that they seemed to have gone off the deep end. They took such delight in the bad reviews and early closing, it was amazing. They're the ones who have issues, not us, who simply liked the show and dared to post about it!

And I know which board you're talking about! (:^)

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Updated On: 3/30/04 at 05:30 PM

Will shill for food?

OH MR ROXY..you're so SHILLY!

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I think a friend or relative can most certainly be considered a shill. One does not need to be the direct recipient of a hopeful monetary gain. One can post an askew comment so that a friend or loved one gains.

Also shilling shouldn't be confused with those that just have an inexplicable blind allegiance to a defunct musical.

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I'm glad this thread was started because honestly, I wasn't 100% sure of what a shill was. lol
Now, as I would see it, other than the people who get paid to rave about a show; shills are also fans...but those fans only post when it's about that show or performer with which they seem obsessed; they never post on any other Broadway related topic.
So technically there are not just "Show Shills", there are also "Performer/Actor Shills" like people obsessed with Linda Eder, Bernadette Peters, Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, etc...and ONLY post about that particular performer.
right?

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I believe Julius Caesar said that or was it his brother Irving ?

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I don't really agree about the "Actor/Performer shills". I think it's okay to love one performer and want to write about him/her a lot- I mean, take me for example. I read the board every day but I don't post that often; When I do post, obviously it's about something I care about. You know what I mean?

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